March 2000 Newsletter
Hello everyone! I pray that this finds you happy and healthy!
As you know, ICU has grown to where the "duties" needed to be divided up. Laura has taken over the work on the website, and has done a beautiful job at it. Please go and take a look at at it. The address is http://icu.tsx.org. I (Traci) have taken over the monthly newsletter. For those who have been with ICU for a while will probably remember me from the Bible studies. The only position that needs to be filled is for the manger of the e-group. Please e-mail us at icuhome@hotmail.com if you are interested. There is more information on the ICU web site about the position.
With the new newsletter, we will still be having Bible studies, joke of the month, memory verse, prayer requests and a member profile. The way that we will be doing the member profile is that one of us will randomly pick a member and e-mail them with a questionaire. All we ask is that you fill it out and e-mail it back to us. It's that simple.
Some new things that will be in the newsletter will be a monthly schedule of events, includidng special topics that will be discussed on the e-group site, holiday/birthday/anniversary dates, Bible study responses, and inspirational story/poem, website of the month and special occasions. We will be sending out an e-mail within the next two weeks asking you for this information. Also, regarding the website of the month, we will be developing an award to be placed on the site. It will be sent to you about a week or so BEFORE the newsletter goes out. This is so that you can place it on your site ahead of time (For those of you who don' t have a website, but would like one, please e-mail us at icuhome@hotmail.com and we will help you find someone to build one).
Regarding joke of the month and inspirational story/poem, if anyone has one (or both!) that they really like, PLEASE submit it! We will welcome them! (Clean jokes only please.) If you have any prayer requests, please submit those as well. We will include them in the newsletter. Now that all the announcements are done, on to the rest of the newsletter!
~~Bible Study~~
Grief and Mourning
Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection adn the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
John 16:22 Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice and no one will take away your joy.
John 11:32-37 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of a blind man have kept this mand form dying?
We see that Scripture tells us that we are supposed to mourn. It's good for us to mourn. Even Jesus mourned the death of Lazarus. He also mourned over the city of Jerusalem, and at the Garden of Gethsamane before his death. Did you know that the chemical make-up of sorrow tears is different that joyful tears? It is! The Lord created us in that way. When we sorrowfully cry, toxins are removed from our bodies through tears.
There are five stages of grief. Please keep in mind that people don't usually go through these stages in order. Some people may skip one stage, while someone else may repeat stages, or even just stay on one stage.
The 5 stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. I Thessalonians 4:13 states: Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. Because we have Jesus in our lives, we grieve in a different way. Yes, we are saddened by the loss of a loved one. THey may or may not be in heaven. I know that if my parents, brother, or sister-in-law were to die this instant, their sould would be in hades (and then in hell after the Day of Judgement). That would sadden me greatly, especially since I have shared the gospel with all of them. For non-Christians, the grief process can be so unbearable that they may commit suicide. If we allow Jesus to comfort us, He will heal us in our grief. It definitely WON'T be easy, but I couldn't imagine going through the grief "process" without Him. God Bless!
Feedback: Have you had a time in your life where you were grieving the loss of a loved one, a divorce, the loss of a job, or any other type of loss? Also, how did you handle that grief? Are you sitll grieving now? Please let us know, and we will add them to next month's newsletter. (If you don't want us to use your name/handle/e-mail address, please tell us that as well. If you don't state that, we WILL use it). *If you are still trying to work through your grief, will also mention it in the prayer request section of the newsletter.*
~~INSPIRATIONAL STORY~~
~Unfolding of the Rose~
A young, new preacher was walking with an older, more seasoned preacher in the garden one day and feeling a bit insecure about what God had for him to do, he was inquiring of the older preacher. The older preacher walked up to a rosebush and handed the young preacher a rosebud and told him to open it without tearing off any petals. The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with his wanting to know the WILL OF GOD for his life and for his ministry. Because of his high respect for the older preacher, he proceeded to TRY to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact...It wasn't long before he realized how impossible it was to do. Noticing the younger preacher's inability to unfold the rosebud while keeping it intact, the older preacher began to recite the following peom...
Unfolding the Rosebud
It is only a tiny rosebud,
A flower of GOD's design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine.
The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I
GOD opens this flower so sweetly,
When in my hand they fade and die.
If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
This flower of GOD's design,
Then how can I think I have wisdom
To unfold this life of mine?
So I'll trust Him for His leading
Each moment of every day.
I will look to Him for His guidance
Each step of the pilgrim way.
The pathway that lies before me,
Only my Heavenly Father knows.
I'll trust Him to unfold the moments,
Just as He unfolds the rose.
(Author Unknown)
~~Site of the Month~~
This site doesn't belong to anyone (that I am aware of) that is a member of ICU. However, when I came across this site, I thought you might be interested in it. The address is www.sxws.com/VHELL, and the site title is Virtual Hell. It is really interesting. We encourage you to visit the site!
~~Prayer Requests~~
Lately, I have been "bombarded" by several Muslims trying to discredit Christianity. I need lots of prayer to witness to them. I have had one tell me that if I can find one thing wrong with her religion (Islam) that she will become a Christian. Please pray for her salvationand the salvation of others. (About a dozen or so total) Thank you and God bless. Traci
~~Memory Verse~~
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and an future."
~~Message from Michael~~
Have you ever had a time in your life when you felt like you had no direction? Sure, we all have. That's exactly what has been happening with ICU. It's been almost two years since we started and I feel we finally have some direction. The web site is getting major facelift with the help of Laura. Being she has her own web design business she will no doubt do a good job. This the first step in helping ICU grow. The next step is the newsletter. Traci continues to spread her spiritual "wings" and use her God given talents toward the newsletter. Here's where you com in. Please take part in ICU activites. The chatrooms are always open and we are trying to arrange chat fellowship meetings. We will soon have many more activites as well. These are very exciting times for ICU and I'm glad all of you have jumped on board! We're not on the straight path yet, but with God's help we will make it.
In Christ's Love,
Michael Sundberg
Director, Internet Christians United